Food For The Soul
by Dragonsrule18
Summary: Frisk has been exhausting herself studying for a press conference, barely eating or sleeping. Toriel can't get through to her, but she knows who can. This is truly a job for The Great Papyrus!


Food For The Soul

Toriel frowned in concern as she saw her daughter hunched over law books. Frisk had been doing this all day even though it was Sunday, as well as studying the law books every spare minute she didn't have school or homework for the past several days. She kept telling Toriel she had to get this down before the press conference that Saturday. And it was especially bad today. She had been only taking breaks to go use the restroom and had barely eaten, even when Toriel had put her favorite butterscotch cinnamon pie in front of her. Even Asgore couldn't get through to her.

But Toriel knew who could.

She grabbed her phone, which Alphys had upgraded and made slightly larger for her so she could more easily work the buttons, and dialed the skeleton brothers. Of course Papyrus answered after the first ring.

"Papyrus, it is Toriel. I need your help." She explained the situation to him.

"DO NOT WORRY, LADY ASGORE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN FIX THIS AND MAKE FRISK FEEL BETTER! I'LL BE OVER RIGHT AWAY!" Before Toriel could even thank him, he had hung up, and not more than five minutes later, she could hear him knocking on the door.

She let him in. "Thank you for coming, Papyrus."

"ANY TIME YOUR MAJESTY! WHERE'S FRISK?"

Toriel led him to Frisk's room, and Papyrus's sockets drooped when he saw the condition his best friend was in. She looked exhausted, bags under her eyes and her hair a frizzy mess as she pored over the law books. It took her a few minutes to notice him, and when she did, she smiled, but it lacked its usual spark.

"Hey, Papyrus." she told him. "Just let me finish this and I'll be right with you."

"NO, FRISK! THIS IS AN INTERVENTION! YOU NEED TO STOP STUDYING AND TAKE A BREAK!" Papyrus told her. With one swift movement, he picked up all her law books and handed them to Toriel before scooping Frisk up in his arms.

Frisk wriggled in surprise. "Hey!"

"NYEH HEH HEH! I HAVE NOW CAPTURED YOU, HUMAN, AND YOU MUST DO AS I COMMAND! I SENTENCE YOU TO REST ON THE COUCH WHILE I PREPARE YOU A LOVELY DINNER! AND NO MORE STUDYING YOUR LAW BOOKS FOR TONIGHT! THAT IS NOT CONSIDERED A BREAK!" he told her firmly when she opened her mouth to speak.

He took her to the living room, laying her gently on the couch and wrapping a fluffy blanket around her. She knew it was pointless to argue and stayed there as he triumphantly went into the kitchen to make her dinner. And she WAS really tired...

Her eyes began drifting shut, and in a matter of minutes, she was asleep on the couch.

While she slept, Papyrus busied himself preparing her favorite meal; lasagna. He hummed softly as he layered the noodles, sauce, and cheese before carefully placing it in the oven. He had gotten a lot better in the kitchen after Toriel had taken over his cooking lessons and had learned to go easy on the spices and cook more slowly rather than blasting the heat.

He prepped garlic bread, putting it in the oven partway through so it could be ready at the same time as the lasagna and made a tossed salad as the lasagna and garlic bread finished cooking, accidentally flipping some of the salad on the floor in his haste to do it quickly. He dished up four small bowls of salad and left Asgore and Toriel's in the kitchen for them before taking his and Frisk's to the living room.

He smiled as he saw her sleeping on the couch. She looked so sweet and peaceful that he hated to wake her, but he knew from what Toriel had told him that she had barely eaten all day and must be hungry. He set the bowls down on the coffee table and gently brushed her bangs away from her eyes before gently shaking her shoulder.

"Hmm?" she mumbled, not opening her eyes.

"I'M SORRY TO WAKE YOU, FRISK, BUT I HAVE SOME FOOD FOR YOU." he told her.

She drowsily sat up. "Smells good..." she mumbled.

"I MADE YOUR FAVORITE! LASAGNA WITH GARLIC BREAD AND A TOSSED SALAD. THE LASAGNA AND GARLIC BREAD WILL BE OUT OF THE OVEN SOON, AND I HAVE YOUR SALAD READY FOR YOU." He handed her the salad as she opened her eyes.

She gave him a real smile for the first time since he got there. "Thanks, Papyrus. You're the best."

"NYEH HEH HEH, I KNOW! NOW EAT UP! AND I ALSO GOT THESE!" He grinned and held up several DVDS. "WE'LL HAVE A BIG MOVIE MARATHON OF ALL YOUR FAVORITES! THAT SHOULD CHEER YOU UP EVEN MORE!"

"That sounds awesome, but I have to study for the meeting on Saturday. If I don't get those laws memorized..."

"NO, FRISK! NO MORE STUDYING FOR TONIGHT! BEING EXHAUSTED WON'T HELP YOU MEMORIZE ANYTHING AND YOU NEED TO REST!" Papyrus insisted.

"But..."

"No buts, Frisk." Papyrus said in the surprisingly soft voice he always used when he was serious. "I don't want you hurting yourself over this."

"I have to get this right!" she blurted out. "The politicians and reporters...sometimes they turn my inexperience against me and if I don't have everything perfectly right...I don't want you guys to have to suffer for my mistakes..."

"Frisk. You're doing just fine. And you're not alone, remember? I'm your co-ambassador." Papyrus told her gently. "We're in this together, and you know we always back each other up. And as your friend and co-ambassador, I'm advising you to rest. Not sleeping and eating won't help anyone, especially not you. You'll find out that you think a lot better when you're rested...Just don't tell Sans I said that, or he'll have another excuse to be lazy."

She let out a tiny laugh. "I won't. And you're right. I have kind of missed sleep. And I've missed spending time with you."

Papyrus smiled at this, returning to his happy normal voice. "I HAVE MISSED IT TOO! BUT NEVER FEAR, MY DEAR HUMAN FRIEND! WE CAN MAKE UP FOR IT TONIGHT!" He heard the oven timer go off. "OH! THE LASAGNA MUST BE READY!" He bolted out to the kitchen and soon returned with two steaming hot plates of lasagna and garlic bread, the delicious scent of the perfectly cooked pasta filling the room. Frisk's stomach growled loudly.

Papyrus chuckled softly and handed her her plate and a fork. "EAT UP, HUMAN."

Frisk didn't need any convincing to dig in. Her eyes nearly rolled back in her head at how amazing it was. The cooking lessons Toriel had given Papyrus had really paid off. Papyrus was an amazing cook when Undyne wasn't encouraging him to start large fires(though she had to admit it was fun to watch). "This is amazing!"

"OF COURSE! IT WAS COOKED BY ME, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS!" Papyrus said proudly.

"Seriously, the recipe should be in a magazine or something." Frisk shoveled more food in her mouth, realizing how hungry she was.

"DON'T CHOKE." Papyrus told her worriedly.

"Don't worry. I could never choke on something as amazing as this lasagna." Frisk told him once she had chewed and swallowed. She did listen though and slowed down after that. Still, the lasagna disappeared with surprising speed and the salad and garlic bread quickly followed. She sighed and rubbed her stomach in satisfaction. "That was awesome." She leaned into Papyrus and he wrapped his arm around her. "Thanks, Papyrus, I really needed this."

"ANYTHING FOR YOU, MY DEAR FRIEND!" Papyrus was so glad to see her eating and relaxing again. He noticed the usual sparkle was returning to her eyes when she looked up at him and gave him her special smile. His soul pulsed with happiness.

The two relaxed on the couch and watched their favorite comedy, laughing together. Frisk rested her head on Papyrus's shoulder with a smile. For some strange reason, Papyrus felt his soul flutter.

But he didn't think of it any further. He simply enjoyed spending time with his best friend and seeing her smile.

...

A few hours later, Toriel walked in to discover the two sleeping in front of the TV, all snuggled up together with Frisk's head resting on Papyrus's shoulder and the skeleton's head atop Frisk's. She couldn't help but snap a picture of the adorable sight with her cell phone to send to Sans before wrapping a blanket around them. "Sleep well, my children."


End file.
